To Love a Loser
by Christmasfreak
Summary: Greg is sent on his very first case, which turns out to be a bit more exciting than he had expected. My own story about Greg's first steps into the world of a CSI
1. Heading down that Road

_**Disclaimer:** None of these amazing characters belong to me in any way._

_**Author's note:** This is my very first fanfiction that I really made progress on, it started as an 'assignment' given by a friend (and full-time Greggo fan) and well, writing it is loads of fun._

_This is chapter one, enjoy and tune in for the updates!_

_**Prologue: **Greg Sanders has just passed his final test to become a CSI, his first assignment turns out to be a bit more exciting than he had expected._

Chapter One: **Heading down that road.**

Greg tied the laces of his shoe tighter and then looked up to see his reflection in the mirror like had done at the end of his last shift.

But at the end of his last shift he merely saw the reflection of a lab tech, training to be a CSI.

Now, he saw a real CSI looking back at him.

He lightly touched his name tag that said _'CSI Sanders'_ with a smile, this was what he had always wanted.

Greg got interrupted in his daydream by his supervisor, Gil Grissom, who was suddenly standing next to him.

It took a few seconds before he started talking, he was apparently slightly amused by the proud grin that covered half of Greg's face.

"I've just received a call from Brass, we have a 419 about 40 miles out of town"

Greg raised his eyebrow "40 miles out of town? Why on earth would someone kill that far into the desert?"

Grissom gave him his why-would-you-ask-me-that look and said "The question's not 'why' Greg, it is and will always be 'who'".

With a guilty look on his face Greg nodded, "Right".

He already knew he wouldn't ever forget that again.

It was a long drive to the Crime Scene, but the company of his co-workers in the car made it a bit more bearable.

Grissom sat behind the wheel, not saying much, fully concentrated on the road.

Nick sat next to him, with the assignment to keep an eye on the map so that wrong turns wouldn't contribute to an even longer journey.

Grissom's silver SUV was now crossing the city border and the car headed into the warm heath of the desert in front of them.

Sara was reading _'Modern Forensics'_, a magazine about new developments in forensic science and occasionally made a remark about an article or laughed at someone's 'expertise' opinion.

But when Sara wasn't laughing or Nick wasn't giving direction it was quiet and one could only hear the engine of the car buzzing.

Greg was staring out of the window for a while but then got extremely bored, they had another half an hour to go and other than staring out of the window he was doomed to doing nothing, unless..

"Reading anything interesting in there?" Greg tried carefully to Sara.

Sara lowered her magazine a bit and looked at him, not completely annoyed which was better than Greg could've hoped for.

"Nah, just some idiot thinking he invented the next best thing; 'fingerprint stickers'. You just put a sticker on the place you think a fingerprint would be and wait, a special chemical in the center spreads itself on the whole surface and every fingerprint it drips across will appear, which makes it easier to detect, or so they say" Sara waved her hand as a sign of disbelief.

As if he was waked by Sara's words Nick turned around to face his co-workers.

"You know, that could actually come in handy. The other day I nearly dusted my arm off, there wasn't part of the china not sprinkled with fingerprint powder. Who did you say wrote the article?"

Greg saw Sara struggling not to say 'the Easter bunny", he chuckled and grabbed the magazine out of Sara's hands who evoked a short 'Hey!'.

"Duncan Dingleman" He said confused, he had never heard of that name before.

Nick and Sara both shrugged.

"Never heard of him" said Nick, returning to his map.

"Me neither" said Sara, grabbing her magazine out of Greg's hands.

It was silent in the car once more, everyone was minding there own business again until Grissom opened his mouth for the first time that hour.

"I know him, I once went to one of his lectures"

The other CSI's looked at each other, not at all surprised that this man was another person in Grissom's acquaintance circle.


	2. The art of interrogation

**Disclaimer: **Nope, it all still doesn't belong to me.

**Author's note: **Yay, a review! Thanks and ehh..keep 'em coming!

* * *

Chapter 2: **The art of interrogation**

Not long after the conversation the SUV came to a halt behind two police cars, one of which Greg recognized to be Brass's.

The moment the team got out of the vehicle, Brass came walking up to them together with his trusty note pad clutched firmly in his hand.

"Hey guys, I'm afraid I don't have that much good news to tell you"

-"Is it possible to bring any good news at a Crime Scene?" asked Greg skeptically.

Brass ignored his comment and Grissom gave him a warning look, Greg decided that keeping his mouth shut was probably the smartest thing to do now.

"The victim is a fifteen year old girl named Cassie Norman, she had her hall pass in her bag"

The CSI's were quiet once again, this time out of abomination, the dead of any person was horrible but a fifteen year old made them terribly aware of the cruelty of some people in the world.

Grissom was the first person to break the silence. "Who found her?"

Brass checked his note pad before he answered Grissom's question.

"Two teenage boys, joyriding across the desert in daddy's Mercedes. They ran over the girl's foot, and I have to say it really surprises me that they even noticed and bothered to pull over".

Grissom looked confused, in his knowledge every sane human being would _at least_ be curious.

"Well, let put it this way" Brass said thinking of a way to put it in a clear perspective, "They asked me, and I quote: _'Hey dude, what's that ugly twin brother of yours doing standing next to you?'_"

-"They were wasted" stated Greg in a way he could have said '_dôh_'.

Grissom stepped to forward to face his team.

"Okay, we have to do this investigation careful and very thorough. This aren't ideal circumstances to collect evidence, it's very hot out here but be sure to collect _everything_. We have a responsibility to the girl's parents, they need to know what happened, and so do we."  
Grissom paused for a moment to let his words penetrate the minds of his team.

"Sara, you'll cover the area around the body. Nick and I will examine everything close to the body, and Greg…you'll have another nice talk with the boys who found Cassie, get some more details on where they've walked and get their shoeprints. If you're done, come see us".

Greg nodded as a sign he understood, talking to the suspects wasn't really what he had in mind but it was a start.

Grissom didn't say anything further and walked away, Sara and Nick on the other hand, stayed behind for a moment to wish him luck.

"Break a leg man" said Nick and patted him on the back.

Sara smiled at him and said "Good luck".

Greg watched his co-workers walking away, it meant a lot to him that they had faith in him.

With this confidence boost, Greg walked up to the two boys standing nearby the ambulance getting checked out by the paramedics.

The moment Greg arrived and greeted them, the paramedics walked away to make room for him as a sign of professional courtesy.

Greg turned to the boys who were still looking a bit woozy from whatever they still had in their system.

"I'm Greg Sanders, I'm with the Las Vegas Crime lab" He said that realizing he had never said that before outside the lab, there was one time he had to identify himself when the CSI's

were handling a hot case and there was security posting outside the building to keep the media out.

The boys didn't say anything but stared at him with an empty gaze.

Greg figured playing the nice guy wouldn't work, the boys were too far out.

"So, what were you doing cruising around in your dad's Mercedes in the middle of nowhere?"

This time, Greg sounded a bit more harsh then he had done before.

They now looked at him as if Greg had thrown a bucket of ice cold water in their faces, they were suddenly very aware of the fact that they were being questioned.

"Are you like cop or something? You don't look like the ugly fat guy who was asking us like a thousand questions earlier"

Their attitude went from absent-minded to defensive in a matter of seconds.

Greg had to find a way to make them talk.

"I'm a forensic scientist, I'm here to find out whether you killed this girl or not. And honestly, your future isn't looking all that great at the moment".

Greg's words seemed to piss them off even more, but it finally made them break.

"We didn't kill that girl! She was already toast when we ran over her foot". One of the teenagers, a boy with a cap named Jimmy, said.

While the boy talked, Greg opened his shoeprint kit and gestured the boys one by one to lift their feet.

He stood up again and put away the evidence in the evidence bags.

"What were you doing this far into the desert anyway?"

Again, there was that annoying silence that had been there a few times already during the conversation.

But this time, the boys looked questioned as if they didn't know whether they should tell him or not.

Gavin, the other boy, took a deep sigh. "There was a party, about 3 miles from here in an abandoned fort. The whole school goes there to party every weekend, it's the hottest place around".

Greg couldn't believe what he was hearing, did he actually get the boys to reveal this kind of delicate details to him?

"Was Cassie there?"

-"Cassie?"

"The girl you ran over"

"Dunno, we were…kind of _busy_, if you know what I mean" Gavin suddenly had a frolic smile on his face.

Greg thanked the boys and told them to stay in town, in case they needed them again during the investigation.

He then walked up to Grissom and Nick, he couldn't wait to tell them what he had found out.


	3. One out of three

**Author's note:** I'd really like to thank GregSanders for the really nice reviews, thank you

This is a really short chapter (sorry), hope you have fun reading it!

Chapter 3: **One out of three, **

"Good job Greg" Was the only thing Grissom said to him before walking straight to Brass.

Nick, who was still working on the victim, looked at Greg who was glowing with self-confidence after Grissom's compliment.

"Yo, Sherlock, would you mind getting of your pedestal to give me a hand?"

"'Course, where can the master-interrogator help you with?"

Nick knew Greg well enough to know he was kidding, but he did needed a reality-check, just to make sure.

"What do you make of this?" Nick pointed at how the girl's arms were bound together with her palms up.

The knot was located at the back of her hands, in this position it looked like her hand was used to place something on.

Greg wasn't sure why, maybe she had tried to free herself by moving her hands.

He explained his 'trying-to-break-loose'-theory to Nick who nodded.

"That is a possibility, but somehow the rope looks like it had been fastened with a lot of strength. The person who bound her hands together was extremely mad".

Just when Nick started to tell Greg about the things he and Grissom had already found around the body Sara came walking up to them.

"You guys, I'm confused"

Both Nick and Greg were surprised by this comment, a sentence like that coming out of Sara's mouth wasn't all that common.

"I found three pairs of tire treads in the sand. One of them matches the Mercedes that ran over Cassie's foot. There is a tread of that supposedly braked very fast and then stood still here for a moment and then accelerated going back to town. The third one, stopped here and then headed back the same way it came from".

-"Drop off?" Suggested Nick.

"Could be, but which one dropped her off? All three cars came from over there" She pointed at the part of the desert the two teenagers had stated the party had been.

"Somehow I think that is not all you're confused about" Said Greg, as if he could read her mind.

"As a matter of fact, it isn't. See, from what I heard Grissom tell Brass the boys had been to a party. Between the part of the desert where the party was held, and this part of the desert runs a main road into town. Why would three cars drive all the way to this part of the desert, if they were probably heading home?"

The three of them took a while to think, Nick was the first one to fire a theory at them.

"Well, Drunk and Drunker were probably too far out to even know where they were driving"

But that was all that he could say, no one knew what the other two cars could've possibly been doing driving here.

Although they were pretty sure one of them dropped Cassie off.

Before they could speculate even further, Grissom came back from his talk with Brass.

"I think we have everything, the photo's are being sent to the lab for printing. We just have to make sure that all the evidence gets there safely".

With these words the team headed back to the car to return to CSI headquarters.


	4. Speak up

**Author's note:** I'm terribly sorry that I haven't posted the next chapter yet.

To make it up to you, I'll post one now and another one first thing tomorrow!

Thank you very much for the review! Have fun!

Chapter 4:**Speak up.**

As soon as they got back at the lab, Grissom gathered his team in the community break room.

Greg entered the room last, carrying his files under his arm.

Before he sat down he walked to the counter to get himself a cup of his fresh Brazilian coffee.

When he lifted up the pot however, he only found a bottom of it left.

He swiftly turned around and gave them all an accusing look, but was interrupted by Brass who came walking into the room before he could say anything.

Greg gave Sara, who was the only one still looking at him, another look and then sat down next to Nick at the other end of the table.

"What've we got so far?" Grissom put on his glasses to read a report made by the first officer on scene, he glanced over it at the others waiting for an answer.

Nick was the first to reply "Vic's name is Cassie Norman, fifteen.."

Catherine, who had just walked into the room to get some coffee, abruptly turned around when Nick mentioned the young age of the victim.

She wasn't assigned to the case, but took a seat at the table anyway.

"..she goes to the local high school. The parents have not been notified yet, we're trying to contact them but they're probably working".

Grissom nodded as a sign he had heard enough and then moved over to the next subject.

"Pre-analyses of the evidence?"

Now it was Sara's turn, she told everyone at the table about the tire treads she had found.

Greg looked around the table, soon it was going to be his turn and somehow he was a bit nervous.

Glancing over his notes again he realized he didn't have anything to worry about, everything he needed to tell them was in there he just had to stay cool.

"Greg? Greg?!" Apparently Sara was finished with her story and everyone was waiting for him to start talking.

"Yeah" He immediately sat up straight, he organized the papers in front of him once more and scratched his throat.

"The boys who 'found' the girl, told me about a party they had been to a few miles from the Crime Scene. I'm going to try to found out whether Cassie was there too, the boys stated they weren't sure if she was there that night".

"As to the body?" Grissom took off his glasses.

"Right, her hands were in this kind of awkward position like a tray or something. We found different kinds of substances on her hands which are sent to Hodges for analysis" he concluded his story, that was all he had.

"Alright then" Grissom was the first to stand up, the others followed his lead.

"Keep each other informed on the progress".

Everyone walked out of the room to go on with the investigation except Nick and Greg who still sat in their chairs.

"You're in for a treat" Said Nick getting up too "Your very first autopsy is about to take place"

Greg looked at him, he knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

"Lets go" He said firmly and followed Nick out of the room.


	5. More than you think

**Author's note: **As promised: The next chapter.

Wanna say a quick hello to my loyal reader (GregSanders), thank youD

**Chapter 5: **More than you think.

Cold shining steel marked the entrance of Doc. Robbins autopsy room.

When Greg and Nick entered, David was just in the process of washing a body.

David looked up hearing the two men coming in, he waved at them and while doing that he accidentally turned the showerhead towards himself spilling water all over his lab coat.

"The intention of washing the body, is actually to wash _the body_. I trust _you_ took a shower at home today" Doc Robbins walked into the room with in one hand a white box, he used the other one to hold his cane.

David looked apologetic, Greg and Nick chuckled by the sight of David trying to turn the showerhead off and trying to keep the rest of him dry.

"Sorry I'm late, but I saw this as my only opportunity to get something to eat. It has been quite busy tonight" Said Robbins, gesturing at the box he had just brought in.

"Luc's delicious burgers" Greg recognized the box, he was getting a bit hungry himself too.

Robbins laughed and walked up to the silver plate in the centre of the room.

"You know your burgers" He said, while pulling off the upper part of the white sheet covering the body.

The cold body of Cassie Norman lay there in silence, her eyes closed but her chest opened.

The bruises on her arms were even more visible now the bright light enlightened the body.

Nick took a step closer, Greg hesitated but followed him anyway.

Up close, it hit Greg even harder that the person cut open on this tray had been a part of the world not that long ago and now just lay there, waiting for them to give her peace.

"What can you tell us?" Nick gloved up and placed his hands on the plate giving him a better view.

"I can tell you the cause of death. A number of severe injuries caused her body to get weak, a final hard blow to the head however was what made her body give up".

Robbins showed them an x-ray photo, pointing out Cassie's skull which was shattered into pieces.

Greg swallowed away the lump he felt coming up in his throat, after looking at the x-ray he had turned his head towards the girl's chest.

The skin that had once been covering her chest was opened with door-like flaps on both sides of her chest.

A sharp smell suddenly hit him, the intestines looked like meat that had turned bad after laying in the sun in stead of the fridge.

One thing was sure: He definitely wasn't hungry anymore.

"So what were the other injuries?" Asked Nick, looking from the x-ray back to Robbins.

"A lot of bruises, I think they're caused by stomping and hitting. This poor girl has had a rough time before she died."

"Time?" Greg awaked out of his feeling of pure disgust. "That sounds like she was-"

"-being abused long before she died" Robbins finished his sentence.

A silence struck the room like lightning.

Greg looked at Cassie, he couldn't imagine what kind of life she must have had.

He was ready to leave to go and find out who could've done this, he turned around.

Nick grabbed his arm to stop him, Robbins apparently wasn't finished yet.

Now Robbins pulled away the lower part of the sheet and the girl's stomach and bowel came in sight.

This time, Greg couldn't help but gagging and ran out.

Leaning against the wall outside the coroner's office he could hear Nick and Doc Robbins laughing.


	6. Where there's smoke, there's

**Author's note: **Next chapter is up, decided to throw in some humor..Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: **Where there's smoke, there's…

Greg took another sip of his coffee while lying on the sofa that stood in the corner.

He was glad he could take a break, not because he was scared to go back to work, but to recap all the things that he had done so far.

His first autopsy hadn't been a total disaster if it weren't for the fact he ran out like his butt was on fire.

He brought the coffee mug to his mouth and smelled the aroma coming out of it, but for some reason it didn't smell like his regular Brazilian blend.

There _was_ something on fire in here.

He jumped up and quickly put the mug on the counter, doing that he instantly faced the cause of the penetrating smell that was filling the room.

The microwave had dark plumes of smoke coming out of it, in one smooth movement Greg took the plastic tray out of the microwave and threw it in the sink.

He let some water running over it, maybe that would take the awful smell away.

"Jeez, what died in here?" Sara walked in waving her hand in front of her nose.

"Someone's lunch" Greg shut of the water and coughed because of all the smoke that had filled the room after he had opened the microwave.

Sara walked up to the sink where the platter was still smoldering.

"What's going on?" Warrick came in too, carrying a load of files which he dropped on the table.

He took one look at the mess in the sink and brought his hand towards his head.

"Damn, I must've forgot"

Greg and Sara looked at him equally surprised to hear this words coming from Warrick.

"You were going to eat this? Even not burned it looks like something a cow spat out" Sara was disgusted even thinking about it.

"Yeah, well. I didn't really have time to go to the store yesterday, I had that lying around in my fridge. It hasn't even passed its expiration date". Warrick shrugged and looked at the clock. "I don't have time to eat anyway, I'm working on this case with Catherine. If I'm lucky I'll be able to go home tonight, I really hate it when the Sheriff is on his war path. See you around" Warrick lifted the files again and walked out.

There were a few seconds of silence, partially because talking would let the smell penetrate their noses even more.

After a few minutes their attention was drawn by Hodges who waved a piece of paper at them.

Greg and Sara followed him back into his lab and watched Hodges laying something out for them under the microscope.

"Et voila, recovered from the victim's body" He said self-satisfied and rolled his chair back so that they both could look through the microscope themselves.

Greg looked first only to find a piece of glass under it.

"It's glass" He said, stating the obvious.

Sara took a look too and came up even faster than Greg had done.

Hodges pretended to be shocked and placed his hand in front of his open mouth to give his play just the unnecessary extra it didn't need.

"Aren't you the big investigator" He snapped at him, and picked up a piece of paper.

"This, my dear traitor, is a piece of glass that is not common used these days. The moment that piece of glass crossed my trusty microscope I found out something that may well be just what you need"

Greg looked at Hodges with a grin on his face, he knew perfectly well why Hodges called his a traitor. The fact that he left the lab to become a CSI was like dropping your belief according to Hodges.

Before he could say anything back, Sara interrupted him. "How were you able to identify the glass?"

"Brass visited the fort together with Grissom, there was a shattered window and Grissom collected some glass." Hodges paused again, probably trying to increase the excitement.

The only thing that got increased in the room though, was Greg's annoyance.

He grabbed the lab results himself and started reading.

"It matches the vic's. So she _was_ there, at the party" Greg's face enlightened a bit more, partially because he saw Hodges' disappointed face.

"Sorry Hodge, gotta go. We've got people to talk to, evidence to collect. Don't forget to write a good report of your findings for me, wouldn't want to blame the lab rat later right?" Now it was Greg's turn to walk out self-satisfied.


	7. Spin

**Author's Note:** Next Chapter is up! Thanks to GregSanders for yet another great reviewD

Chapter 7:**Spin**

The green lawn in front of the school was swarming with laughing and talking cheerleaders.

Greg felt the familiar High School Feeling coming over him the moment he stepped out of the SUV.

He waited for a second for Sara to get out of the car and together they walked up to the immense building in front of them.

"It's been a while" Said Sara.

"Yeah, I kinda miss it sometimes. Tormenting teachers, chasing cheerleaders, party's-"

Greg was just in time to avoid a skateboarder that cut him off.

"You okay?" Sara asked wiping traces of mud off of Greg's jacket.

Greg nodded, "Near death experience" he said in a woeful voice.

Sara chuckled and opened the door of the building to let herself and Greg in.

They were greeted by a fifty-something-year-old woman with grayish hair and a pair of big brown glasses standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Good afternoon, I'm Mrs. Newman, the head-principal" She shook both of their hands, constantly having a warm smile on her face, the kind that salespersons would always have, trying to sell you something you didn't need.

Greg smiled back at her when he shook her hand, not knowing whether she was just a nice woman or a nice woman with a secret.

"I'm Sara Sidle and this is Greg Sanders, Las Vegas Crime Lab".

"Oh yes, I know why you're here. I expected you to stop by, such a dreadful situation isn't it? We should go to my office to talk" The woman kept talking in a warm, compassionate voice.

Greg and Sara exchanged looks while they followed Mrs. Newman to her office, they both felt like they were following Mrs. Clause.

Greg's sensation of him feeling 16 again didn't decrease at all once he entered Mrs. Newman's office.

The large windows granted them a wide look over the school grounds on which a few students were still hanging around.

Two very uncomfortable hard wooden chairs stood in front of the desk.

The desk was extremely empty, as were the shelves on both sides of the office.

There were three large file cupboards in the corner, those cupboards were the only proof of there being work done in the office.

The principal's office was one Greg knew from inside out, at least at his own High School.

"Please, sit down" Mrs. Newman gestured at the chairs.

The CSI's took a seat on the chairs and were instantly aware of the hardness of them, they couldn't imagine that anyone would want to stay in here for long.

Mrs. Newman took a seat behind her desk and folded her hands neatly on the desk, her eyes were sad but the smile still stuck on her face.

"Could you tell us something about Cassie?" Greg asked.

"Cassie was a sweet girl. Hard working, respectful towards her teachers.

She didn't have many friends, although she desperately tried to make friends.

But as far as I know her only true interests were the books she studied and the lessons she attended. Straight A student, except for P.E, which is understandable due to her physique".

Greg thought back at the girl lying on the tray in Robbins' autopsy room, he hadn't put much attention to her figure but that could be caused by the fact that her gut had been hanging out of her stomach.

Cassie didn't have the perfect figure, not like the girls he had seen twirling around on the grounds though.

"So she wanted to mingle?" Sara asked, breaking Greg's pondering.

The principal sighed and took off her glasses.

"A bit too much if you ask me, since a few months her attitude has changed.." Her voice sounded more melancholic.

"She changed the way she dressed, the way she talked, especially towards her teachers. She suddenly tried to 'hang out' with the more popular kids, the more she _mingled_ with them, the worse it got.

The new Cassie has been in here more times in the last few weeks than the old Cassie would have been in her whole life".

Out of all the ways this story could've headed, this was one Greg didn't expect.

How could a nice girl turn into a troublemaking wannabe?


	8. Party of Five

**Author's Note:** Yay! Two reviewers, thanks!

**Chapter 8:** Party of 5

After a short while, Greg and Sara were led back into the hallway to talk to some of Cassie's classmates.

The group of teenagers was standing in front of some vending machines.

One of the girls was talking on her cell phone and the other two girls were talking to two of the three boys.

The third one was staring at the wall and didn't notice anything or anyone around him.

Mrs. Newman walked up to them first, clapping her hands lightly to get their attention…it didn't work.

"Children" the principal said in a clear voice in another attempt to get them to listen.

The word 'children' did make them keep quiet, however it also caused some raised eyebrows.

It took them a few minutes to realize there were two people standing behind their belittling principal.

They now focused their attention on Sara and Greg, except for the staring boy who was very absent-minded.

Mrs. Newman introduced them to the teenagers, which caused even more eyebrow raising.

She then stepped aside to give Sara and Greg a chance to talk to them.

"We can handle it from here Mrs. Newman" Said Sara in a effort to give her and Greg a chance to talk to them alone.

The principal nodded and managed to squeeze out a little smile, although they could tell she wasn't very pleased, then she walked away.

"Could you tell me your names first?" Greg asked.

For a second nobody responded then the girl still holding her cell phone spoke up.

"I'm Rebecca, and these peeps are Nicole, Kyra, RJ, Mike and that hunk over there is Alex" She pointed at all of them with calling their names, the last person she pointed at was the boy who had been staring in front of him.

His staring was interrupted by Rebecca winking at him, Alex turned away his face.

"I'm sure you've heard about what happened to your classmate Cassie" Sara said.

"Yeah, it's terrible what happened to her" Nicole said in an implausible way.

"How well did you know her?" Greg asked.

"Oh, we were best friends. Absolutely" Rebecca said, she quickly glanced over to her friends who all nodded.

Greg thought about what the principal had told them earlier, they were playing a convincing game.

"That's interesting" Said Greg trying to break the play. "You don't strike me as matching personalities, wasn't Cassie more of the nerdy kind?" Provoking them might get them somewhere.

The group looked at each other for a few moments, not sure how to react to this question.

"Lets just say she crossed the line over to us" Rebecca said with a smile Greg didn't entirely trust.

"And she was at the same party last night?"

"Yeah, she was. She was having a great time, we left before she did" Rebecca said.

"Ok, that's all we need right now. I'm sorry for your loss" Greg said and Sara gave an agreeing look.

They then walked out the door back to their cars.

It wasn't until they were back on the highway that Greg spoke again.

"I don't trust them"

Sara sighed and looked out the window.

"Me neither"


	9. Talk the Talk

**Author's note:** _Whoops, it's been a while…but here's the new chapter!_

Chapter 9: **Talk the Talk.**

The cars flashed by as they rode back to the lab.

The warm heat of the Nevada sun made the vehicle a tough place to bear.

Greg spiked up the air-conditioning a bit more, a cold breeze flew towards his face.

Sara, who had been staring at the passing cars suddenly spoke.

"D'you know what bugs me?"

Greg looked sideways at Sara, who had a troubled look on her face.

"People turning up the air-conditioning?" He tried.

Sara decided not to respond to his remark.

"The fact that they all just cling together like that, like a swarm of bees, all following the queen bee around".

"Well, that's High School" Said Greg while hitting the brakes for a traffic light that had just turned red.

"When I was in High School, everyone followed around the cheerleaders and the jocks. Didn't that happen at your school?"

Sara sat back with a great sigh, "It probably did, never paid much attention to it".

They pulled up at the lab and got out, Greg locked the car and waited for Sara to follow him inside.

Opening the door of the building brought them back into the chaos that was their workplace.

Sara said she needed time to think and headed towards the locker room.

Greg was just about to head to the trace lab to find out whether there was any new evidence when Brass' face turned around the corner.

"Hey Greg, we've found Cassie's parents" was all he said, before he turned away again.

While walking to Brass' office, Greg felt uncomfortable.

Meeting the girl's parents was probably the hardest thing he had to do.

His expectations were fulfilled as soon as he entered the room.

Cassie's parents sat next to each other, the husband was holding his wife's hand.

The woman's gaze was fixed on the floor, her face had no expression.

The man, on the other hand, showed a lot more emotion.

His eyes were filled with tears, and every few minutes he squeezed his wife's hand as a sign of assurance that she was still there.

"This are Mr. and Mrs. Norman" Brass introduced the people sitting next to each other, they both ignored what he said.

"And this is Greg Sanders, one of our Forensic Scientists working on your daughter's case"

It wasn't until Brass mentioned that Greg was one of the people investigating their daughter's death that they looked up.

"Who did this to our little girl?" Mr. Norman asked in a voice filled with emotion.

"We're still trying to find the person who did this" Said Greg, consistent with the guidelines.

He wasn't allowed to speak openly about the ongoing investigation, but seeing these devastated people like that, Greg wished he could tell them right now who had done this do their daughter.

The non-existing expression of Mrs. Norman changed in a matter of seconds into an expression of pure rage.

"You're still trying to find the person? Are you kidding me? Our daughter has been murdered and you're telling me, while standing _here_ you are _trying_ to find the person? What kind of imbecile are you?" The woman jumped up and walked towards Greg with firm passes.

It was a good thing that Mr. Norman was still holding a part of his wife's hand, or Greg would have been attacked by the infuriated woman.

"Bee, please. Sit down, I'm sure-" Mr. Norman tried to calm his wife.

"Shut up Henry, just…Shut up!" Mrs. Norman pulled the last part of her hand out of her husband's and stormed out.

It all happened so fast that no one had the time to stop her, Greg looked at the man who had now put his face in his hands, his tears dripping through his fingers.

"Mr. Norman?" Brass put his hand on the man's shoulder, who lifted his head up instantly.

"I'm sorry, my wife is a very strong woman. When something doesn't happen the way she planned it, she freaks.." A sad, unconvincing smile now came across his face.

"You both need a minute, we understand. Let me take you to your wife, you can have a quiet sit in the lounge, calm down a little. We can do this later" Brass said.

He helped the man get up and walked out with him.

Greg just stood there, wishing he could've had something comforting to say.


	10. Stepford Daughter

**Disclaimer: **Characters within do not belong to me, sigh.

**Author's Note: **New chapter's up, hope y'all like it!

Chapter 10: **Stepford Daughter**

It took almost an hour for Mr. and Mrs. Norman to calm down.

After a few over-heated discussions between the two people, who seemed to be two absolute opposites, they returned to Brass' office.

"I think we're ready for that conversation now" Said Brass, nodding to Greg.

Greg stepped forward and took a seat across them.

"Tell us, what _do_ you know so far?" Mrs. Normans attitude towards was still very cool.

Greg knew there was no point in keeping to the protocol in this situation, if he was to get anything out of these people he had to work with them.

He looked at Brass for a moment who seemed to share his thoughts because he nodded slightly.

"Your daughter was found in the desert, she had been there for a few hours. She probably died of severe head trauma"

Greg could see the couple holding their breaths while he told his story.

"How did she get in the desert on an inhuman hour of the night like that?" Mr. Norman asked.

"She apparently went to a party at the Desert Fort"

Mr. Norman's eyes grew big and his face looked absolutely horrified.

"I…I forbade her to go to that party, she asked me several times if she could go…I wouldn't let her. That night…I was home that night, I saw her go to her room around bed time."

"You know Mr. Norman, if I know teenage girls, she could've easily snuck out. Was she actually in her room, did you check?" Brass asked.

"Well…no, I believe I didn't. My wife did, right dear?" Mr. Norman sought for resurrection in his wife.

Mr. Norman looked at his wife, again there was that expressionless face.

Mr. Norman jumped up, he was choked with anger.

"You told me not to go check on her, she was probably fast asleep you said! You let her go didn't you? You let her go to that hell hole to party with those Neanderthals?"

Now it was Mrs. Normans time to jump up.

"Those Neanderthals were her only chance of getting popular! I was Miss Teen Las Vegas, President of the student body, Prom Queen! And what was our daughter? She was all caught up in her books, she wasn't able to make any friends, she wasn't even able to talk to someone! All because you wanted her home schooled when she was younger! I made her popular with her friends, I helped her be what every girl should want to be!"

They stood facing each other, faces filled with a mixture of rage and grief both for their own reasons.

"Was that all you needed to know?" Asked Mr. Norman, his voice shaking with rage.

Greg, who had been standing there being absolutely shocked blinked a few times and then started talking again.

"Just one more thing, the bruises on her body were old"

"She fell off her horse, unfortunate accident. She stopped horseback riding immediately after that, well…at least I think that is why. Maybe my soon to be ex-wife thought it wasn't cool enough. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go call my lawyer" He then stormed out.

Now there were only three people left in the room, Mrs. Norman ripped her gaze from the wall she had been staring at and now looked at the two men in the room.

"I know what you're thinking, but I did love my daughter, she just wasn't…"

"…perfect enough?" Brass asked, his glance had cooled about ten degrees.

The woman took a deep sigh and walked out.


	11. Knight in shining armour

Chapter 11:**K****night in shining armour.**

After the very revealing talk with Cassie's parents, Greg attempted to head back to the lab to get some insight in what everyone else had found out for the second time that day.

Again, he was stopped on his track, this time by Grissom.

"In here Greg, I need to show you something"

Greg walked into the layout room where he found Grissom flipping through pages of a document that said 'text messages' on the front .

"What's this?" Greg leaned forward to get a closer look at the document.

"These are text messages, all including expressions of _l'amour_"

"Love? From whom?"

"These messages were frequently sent to Cassie Norman, in the period of two months ago until three days ago, by no other than Alex Fisher"

"Alex Fisher? That's not that strange, they were in the same clique, happens all the time"

"Then why does he say this? _I can't come meet you tonight, the group wants to hang out, you know I can't cancel on them, I'm sorry._ Was he scared to let anyone know he was in love with Cassie?"

"When Sara and I talked to her friends they let us believe that they all adored Cassie" Greg frowned his eyebrows.

"Are you absolutely certain they were the girl's friends?"

"I'm having my doubts now"

Grissom gave him one of his famous looks, with one single stare he was able to say something without actually opening his mouth.

This particular stare was one that told Greg he wasn't to have any doubts, he should always be certain.

"I think another talk with Alex Fisher will help clear things out, to see what he has to say about all this" Said Greg, putting down the papers.

"That's a good way to start, let me know what you find out"

Greg looked at him with a confused look on his face.

"You're not coming with me?"

Grissom frowned and took off his reading glasses.

"You're a big boy Greg, you can handle this alone"

Greg's grimaced, "Right".

Somehow Grissom had this effect on him, every time he was around he felt like he was being watched every step.

He left the room again to get Brass to make a call, Alex Fisher had more to him than just being a boy staring out of the window.

The interrogation room wasn't Greg's favorite place in the lab, mostly because the dim light and dark surroundings even gave him a shiver all over his body.

But the circumstances were ideal for questioning someone, which was emphasised once more when Alex sat across the table from Greg, sweating like a pig.

"You and Cassie were quite close, weren't you?" Greg asked.

"We hung around, that's it" Alex said in a very unconvincing way.

"I think that's not all you were doing, you were dating"

Alex' eyebrows shot half way up his forehead.

"Now what on earth would make you think that?"

Greg pulled the pages with the text messages on them out of an envelope and spread them out on the table in front of him.

"These make me think, not actually, they make me know you and Cassie were together".

The boy's face took a measured look, he read a few of the messages and with every one of them his look softened more and more.

The last page turned his face into one filled with grief, as if reading this made him more aware of the fact that Cassie was dead.

He held his hand in front of his face to prevent Greg seeing the beginning of tears in his eyes.

He managed to get a hold of himself and looked Greg in the face again.

"Yeah, we were together. Something about her, maybe it was the fact she was different from all of the others, I liked".

"Then why did you try to hide your relationship from your friends?"

"Do you know how hard it is to get that accepted? You can't just love a loser without getting commented on"

"But love conquers all right?" Asked Greg.

"I really wish it did. I loved Cassie" Alex said in a desperate way, he obviously felt guilty about what had happened.

Greg looked into the boy's eyes, they were sincerely filled with sorrow.

What he couldn't understand though, was why he was so scared to show that sincerity in his personal life, one way or another.

Teenagers these days were all about being popular, knowing the right people and trying not to have an opinion too different from their contemporaries.

"One last thing, were you at the party in the Desert Fort with Cassie?"

The boy sniffed before answering Greg's question, a half-smile and a staring look on his face made it clear to Greg that he was remembering that particular night.

"We were both there, obviously we couldn't talk to each other" He said in a nonchalant way.

Greg raised his eyebrow for a second but then decided to let it slip.

"I saw her walking by a few times, she didn't really get any attention from anyone. She walked up and down the room a few times.."

Flashback

_The music was playing loudly and as the night was progressing the people drank more and more and the room was filled with horny teenagers._

_Alex and his mates were standing in one corner, placing bets on who was going to get laid first. The girls stood across all giggling and throwing their most seductive smiles across the room. Rebecca Hoover also threw an occasional wink and wave at Alex while she danced in his eyesight, trying to get his attention._

_Normally she would have got his attention. _

_At a party, Alex was more likely to get attracted by Rebecca's smooth moves and overwhelming charms even if he was dating Cassie._

_Rebecca was the one always trying to get them as far away from each other as possible, for she was chasing Alex too._

_Alex had had two girls in his interest for a very long time, but Cassie had always been his number one._

_But now he and Cassie had broken up, or actually, now he had dumped Cassie under the pressure of one of Rebecca's convincing arguments why they weren't meant to be together he was a free man._

_A free man who couldn't resist the hottest girl around, Rebecca._

_Tonight however, he couldn't help but to look at Cassie._

_Even though she was still the girl that wondered around the room looking for at least someone to talk to, he couldn't stop looking at her._

_He saw her walk from one group of people that quickly split up in foreseeing her presence to another, until she landed with a whole different group of people._

_At party's like these there were always a few people that had complete other things to do than what the other teenagers were doing at the party: drugs._

_Very soon, Cassie got welcomed in the group and was introduced in a world she hadn't experienced before._

_The first joined passed the circle and being glad she finally had a chance to please her mother and getting to know some people Cassie took it and inhaled the intoxicating substance that would soon turn her into the lonely shy girl into the raving and stripping girl._

_The occasional sip of vodka made it entirely sure that the old Cassie was no more that night._

_Alex saw it all happen, and with now Rebecca hanging around his neck trying to kiss him it wasn't very likely that he could get Cassie out of there._

"_Look over there, what the hell is Cassie doing?" Alex said, trying to get out of Rebecca's strong hold._

"_Let the bitch go Alex, you're with me now" Said Rebecca, clutching herself a bit tighter around Alex._

_Now, Cassie was actually dancing on a table with a bottle of alcohol in her hand._

_Alex saw Cassie's hands go towards her sweater, trying to take it off._

_It was lifted almost halfway up her neck, one could see her bra easily which everyone in the room did._

_It didn't take long for all the horny teenage boys to race to the table cheering for Cassie._

_Alex kept looking at it, his eyes wide with panic._

"_Alex," Rebecca turned Alex face back towards her in a rough way "let-it-go! She's made some new friends, the kind she fits into. I always knew she would fit in well with those weirdo's"_

_Alex shifted his attention back to Rebecca for a moment._

"_How do you know that? You don't even know them, you wouldn't even come near them"_

_Rebecca got an evil half-smile on her face. "I did meet them, I mean, someone had to tell them there was a girl desperately in need of some…friends"_

_Alex's face boiled with anger, he yanked himself loose from Rebecca and ran up to Cassie who was in the middle of taking off all of her other clothes._

"_Cassie, stop!" He screamed at her._

_It took a few seconds before Cassie realized she was screamed at, the empty bottle of vodka in her hand explained why._

"_Well, well, well. If that isn't my sneaky ex-boyfriend" She said in a double tongue._

_She hiccupped a few times before she could continue._

"_I wont" She hiccupped again "stop. I'm making friends. Finally some friends who.." hiccup "appreciate me" She threw the bottle on the floor._

_Alex had had it, he lifted Cassie from the table and lifted her on her back under the loud protest from the male partiers._

"_Alex, let me go!" Cassie hit him a few times on his back, Alex didn't respond and kept on walking._

_When they were close to the exit Cassie still wasn't giving up and bit him in his neck._

_Alex instantly dropped her._

_Cassie stood up again, as shaky and wobbly anyone would be after drinking an equal huge amount of alcohol._

"_Leave me alone, you're not 'rescuing' me now as a night in shining armour. You've had your chance" Cassie gave Alex a last look and turned around, looking for her new found friends: XTC and Vodka._

Greg had been listening to Alex's story closely, his story sounded like a reliable one.

The bite mark on Alex's neck confirmed it.

"And what happened next?" He asked.

"I left. I couldn't see her like that, I think I realized there and then what a fool I had been. I went home, and the next day I went to school where…where" His face turned into a grieving one again.

"It's okay, thanks" Greg said comforting.

With that, he stood up and walked out of the door.

This conversation had given him more insight in the life of a presumpted 'loser' and much more insight in the investigation.


	12. Deadly Truth

Chapter 12: **Deadly truth**

"Damn, that kid had a whole lot on his liver"

As soon as Greg had left the room he found Nick and Sara in the viewing room, they had apparently been listening to the whole conversation because the moment Greg came into the room he was baffled by Nick's comment.

Greg had no choice but to take a seat in one of the remaining chairs and join the conversation.

"Yeah, the poor kid went through a lot that night" Greg rubbed his temples in an attempt to organize his thoughts.

That remark had a huge impact on Sara, who instantly jumped off the table she had been sitting on.

"Excuse me? That poor kid? What about Cassie? She was the one being psychologically abused by this stuck-up, think-they-are-better-than-anyone-else, bunch. She was forced by her mother, of all people, to fit some kind of 'Stepford Daughter'-profile she obviously wasn't keen on being and she had a so called boyfriend who didn't take her the way she was and did everything in his power to deny that he was with her. And you actually dare to pity the one that pretends to be some kind of 'Knight in shining armour'?"

Greg hadn't seen Sara's eyes lit up with fury like this in a very long time, and it actually startled him for a few seconds, as was Nick.

Although Greg agreed with Sara on the way Cassie's parents and Alex's friends had been treating her, he couldn't help but to disagree with her opinion of Alex.

"Don't you think it counts for something that Alex gave up the entire sham he had been holding up to help Cassie when she needed him?" Greg said.

"Yeah Sara, I don't think he did it either. I think that in the end, he realized that it all wasn't worth it. Haven't you ever done anything you regretted? And tried to make amends?" Nick said.

"That was a little too late, wasn't it? She was already too far gone. I think, that after he left the party he got angry because of the way she had embarrassed him in front of his friends. He wasn't going to just let her get away with it."

"And what evidence do you have to back that up?" A familiar voice filled the room, Grissom had been listening outside the door and took Sara's fall-out as an opportunity the mingle in the conversation.

Sara gave him an annoyed look and shrugged, her outburst had been more of an emotional one.

"It's time to go home, shift's over. We will work this all out tomorrow, when our minds are cleared up a bit. This investigation has already taken over more of our emotions than it should have, I'll see you all tomorrow" Grissom said in a supervisory way that came over him every time he had to slow his team down a bit to keep them from doing anything on their last nerve.

Greg suddenly that he had been working for thirteen hours straight.

The group parted, everyone of them their own way, heading for a few hours of most likely intermittent sleep for this case would be one their minds constantly.

Greg opened his locker and took out his jacket and car keys and closed it again.

He turned around to head for the exit when he found Sara standing in the doorway.

"Something wrong?" He asked, although he could see by Sara's face that this was a superfluous question.

Sara's face was pale, not like she was tired, but a startled kind of pale.

"Yeah, a call just came in. Alex Morton has committed suicide"


	13. Satisfaction

Auhor's note: Yes, I am very much ashamed not to have updated in such a long time..but here's finally the end of my story! Hope you all enjoyed it! Hope to see you at my next fic;-)

Chapter 13:**Satisfaction.**

"He whát?" Greg threw his jacket on the floor and took his processing kit out of his locker after which he quickly followed Sara to the parking lot where Grissom and Nick were already waiting in the car.

Greg and Sara got in, the moment Greg closed the door, Grissom hit the gas pedal and they set off to the Crime Scene

The roads were relatively clear for the time of day, so the team got to Alex's house fast where they were held up by a few dozen people, probably neighbours, who were standing behind the yellow tape surrounding the driveway.

The first thing Greg noticed was that there was a very strong silence amongst the crowd, he wasn't sure whether it was shock or ignorance, it was hard to believe that everyone here knew about what had happened seeing that the suicide had only occurred half an hour ago.

There was another thing that struck Greg's attention the moment he got out of the car, a young girl was screaming and crying somewhere on the far right of the crowd.

"And Greg, you talk to the parents" Apparently Grissom had been handing out tasks for a while, Greg had been too busy analysing the scene.

Greg nodded and walked towards the front door, but somehow he couldn't help but to make a de-tour to the now heart-rending crying girl.

He was surprised to see Rebecca sitting on the sidewalk surrounded by a few of her friends who all had the same grieving look on their faces.

"Rebecca?" Greg asked.

Rebecca looked up with the sound of his voice, looking bewildered.

Her mascara had run all over her face, and her eyes were swollen from the tears.

She jumped up and pulled Greg to an open spot behind the mass of people.

"He shouldn't have died, he shouldn't have!" Rebecca cried.

Greg put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting look.

"No one should die, especially at his age-"

"No! You don't understand!" Rebecca pushed Greg's hand off and turned her head away.

Greg wasn't sure what to expect, for some reason the girl had an ashamed look on her face.

"I loved Alex, I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Now he's dead, and only because I wanted to protect him! He didn't know what he was doing, he loved ME! Not her! And now that little bitch killed him, just as I thought she was no longer a threat to our relationship!" The gasping she had been doing while speaking had now turned into loud crying.

"You murdered Cassie?" Greg couldn't believe what he had just heard, he couldn't believe it had taken a boy to die before they could solve the case.

Rebecca looked at Greg, a small almost satisfied looking grin came across her face.

"Yeah, I relieved the world from yet another loser"

Greg shook his head and waved at an officer standing nearby.

Greg watched the cop butting handcuffs on Rebecca who let it all happen.

While she was taken to the police car, she turned her head to Greg, smiling.

"You know, I did the girl a favour. She would've died of grief anyway when she would have found out that Alex never loved her, that eventually he and I would be together"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, he killed himself out of love for Cassie. He didn't stay alive out of love for you".

With those words, Rebecca's self-satisfied grin disappeared from her face.

Greg's face on the other hand, was now shining with satisfaction.


End file.
